


Sprinting to a Walk

by randers1



Category: Chicago PD (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-06
Updated: 2020-08-05
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:47:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 18,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24564079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/randers1/pseuds/randers1
Summary: Another take on Hailey's return from New York. Hello, season 8? Is this thing on? (tap, tap)
Relationships: Jay Halstead & Hailey Upton, Jay Halstead/Hailey Upton
Comments: 63
Kudos: 199





	1. part 1

**Author's Note:**

> Dick Wolf owns them all.
> 
> No, I don't know where Vanessa is.

Hailey woke feeling familiar but not. She was back in her own bed and not in the hotel, back in Chicago and not in New York. Normally she woke alone, but not this morning. She forced her mind to stay blank and shifted her position. She turned slightly to her side and there was the difference. Jay. Beside her, sleeping soundly, shirtless, looking so sweet, so calm.

The last remnants of fog cleared her brain and it immediately went in to overdrive, reminding her about yesterday’s activities.

She’d deplaned and gone right to the baggage area, grateful to be back on Chicago soil. She’d enjoyed her work with the FBI but was glad it was done. The work kept her busy but not so much that she wasn’t constantly aware that she was in a foreign land with different tech, different people, different energy, different methodologies, different forms, a different partner. She wasn’t sure if she’d learned anything during her time there but she’d played by the rules. Maybe that was all that was expected of her, she wasn’t sure. And she was tired of feeling unsure.

The feeling hadn’t fully dissolved even as she picked up her suitcases from the carousel but a step in the direction of ‘familiar and right’ was made as she heard a voice behind her. “You know, you could’ve given your partner a heads up about your flight. Bet he’d have showed up to help with your bags.”

She turned, grinning brightly. “Jay.” She hadn’t yelled it or even said it loudly, just let it roll off her tongue quietly and happily. But she did lean right in to him feeling his solid form against her as his arms wrapped around her quickly, holding her to him. She stayed put and looked up at him, still smiling. “Missed you.”

He smiled back and quirked an eyebrow. “Yeah? We’ll see how fast that changes when you see how much of your paperwork I meant to get to but…” He winced playfully as she huffed out a chuckle. “Missed you too.”

Hailey stepped back and grabbed one of her bags while Jay grabbed the other. “Note to self,” she said cheekily. “ _Definitely_ let my partner know when I get back from a trip. Bag service is seriously appreciated.” He smiled as they walked and she continued talking, explaining why she hadn’t said anything. Didn’t want to in case it all went to hell at the last minute. Flight change, one last meeting, one last form to sign, we need you one more day…any and all were plausible and they both knew it. “So how _did_ you know?”

A one-word answer was all he needed to give. “Voight.”

She nodded slowly and changed the subject. “Everything change while I was gone?”

He played along as they cleared the automatic doors. “Absolutely. New team, new furniture…a new district.”

“Just so long as no one touched my chair.”

He smiled and teased condescendingly,. “No one touched your chair. We taped out a perimeter just to make sure, it’s like it’s in a museum.” It earned him a look but he continued anyway. “Everything’s good. Same old, same old. We’re just all glad you’re back. Or, they rest of ‘em will be when they hear.”

They were at his truck, parked in an Authorized Personnel spot by the doors. He unlocked it as they walked up and put the bag he held in the backseat. She gave him hers to put in and nodded, “So I’m your secret right now?”

He smiled, closed mouth and nodded. “Yeah, I guess you could say that.”

She smiled and rolled her eyes mildly as she took her spot in the front seat.

When Jay was behind the wheel he turned to her. “So how tired are you? On a scale of ‘take me right home’ to ‘let’s party’?” He started the ignition and pulled out into moving traffic, beginning their ride back in to the city.

She pushed out a breath and mused, “Whoo, that’s quite a scale.” She gave some thought to it and decided on, “Not in need of going right home but I don’t feel like going out anywhere…if you’re asking what I want to do tonight, I wouldn’t say no to a decent pizza, a few drinks, and a night in.” She caught his look and smiled, emphasizing, “With you” and gave another mild eye roll.

“Just wanted to make sure. Didn’t want to assume.”

“Jay,” she said factually, happy to say his name again and _to_ him, “you’re always welcome. You should know that by now.” She’d said it so casually, so surely.

He accepted her words and briefly smiled, turning his attention back to the road ahead of them.

They’d stopped for pizza and cold beer, and now, Jay was in charge of plating at the island while Hailey changed upstairs. Being back here, in her home, in her kitchen made him feel a sense of calm he didn’t know he’d missed. But being here again, with her right upstairs, made him also feel… maybe that was it, he realized. It made him _feel_. _She_ made him feel. For so long he’d just focused on work and the occasional one night stand. But the latter had stopped long ago, back when he’d realized that his feelings for his partner were real and not going away no matter what he did to push them down, erase them. They were as stubborn as he was. As she was. And in the end, he simply allowed them to live with him. Didn’t act, just let them be. But her absence made them stronger, made him constantly aware of them and their constant drumming at him about her absence and her return.

Hailey checked herself in the bathroom mirror. She was back to a t-shirt and sweats, and felt so incredibly comfortable. So _herself_. She didn’t mind dressing for work in New York but it had gotten old fast. Her own closet was full of button down shirts and long sleeved tees while her dresser held jeans and short sleeved shirts. They may be simple options but they made her her. She wasn’t playing any sort of part when she wore them and it felt good to be back to being 100% herself. Her hair was somewhat wild and rather than try to tame it she grabbed a hair tie from a drawer and began to make her way down to the kitchen, looping it up into a ponytail.

“Good lord, the pizza even _smells_ better here.” She happily rolled her eyes in mock-ecstasy and leaned her head back before sliding on to a stool. Jay froze for a second as she joined him in the kitchen. Her beauty wasn’t new, but the look she’d just given was and it had _done things_ to him. He tried to get his shit together and blinked a few times trying to get the image of her exposed neck out of his mind, the _look_ that had slipped on and off her face… Without words he slid her a plate and a beer.

They ate and drank together making conversation, earning a few laughs as Hailey told the stories from New York that she was allowed to tell, and Jay relayed updates on cases from their district. As he neared the end of his 4th beer and had put the few dishes in the sink he found himself clearing his throat and attempting to stand casually (how had he forgotten to do that?) and asked the question that had been on his mind since he’d found out about it. “So tell me about your partner in New York.”

She glanced at him from over her shoulder as she put the pizza box in the refrigerator, “OA?” she questioned.

He shrugged and swigged his beer. “I guess, if that’s his name.” _Score one for Jay_ , he thought. _Nonchalance is on point._

She looked at him slightly confused, slightly curious as she hip checked the refrigerator door, closing it. “We weren’t really _partners_ ” she clarified. “He _has_ a partner—and so do I.” she tacked on at the end with an emphatic look. “But OA and I were ‘paired up’” she told him, using air quotes. “Nice guy, good police. For a fed.” she shrugged, unsure of what else there was to say.

All of a sudden there was something very interesting at the bottom of Jay’s beer bottle. “You guys do a lot of socializing? After work?”

Hailey studied him for a moment before a smirk began to form. Jay purposely kept his eyes away from her. “Some,” she taunted and purposely said no more, until, “Why?” She leaned forward to grab her beer from the island then leaned back against the refrigerator taking a long sip.

Jay gave an uncaring grimace as he shrugged, “Curious.”

Her eyebrows lifted. “You’re not…. _jealous_ are you?” she stepped toward him, then questioned, “Jay?”

It was on the tip of his tongue to say **_no_** _, of course not_ but he couldn’t muster the lie. So he said nothing and just looked away instead.

“ _Jay_?” She was torn between confusion and still wanting to tease him. It would be ridiculous for him to be jealous of anyone when he was the one who held her heart. _Wait, what?_ That had crept up on her from out of nowhere. Yes, she knew she loved Jay, had for a while now. But she’d long ago reconciled the fact that it was one sided and that nothing would come from it. She could love him on her own as she had for a while now. She licked her bottom lip just as Jay looked at her and he nearly groaned out loud seeing it. “We had beers a few times,” she told him. “Nothing else.”

He nodded as though getting the confirmation he needed. Jay tossed his now empty bottle in the recycling bin before turning toward her. “I think you’re out of beer.”

She gave him a side eye, “Jay Halstead, I thought you were some kind of elite detective,” she teased, smiling. “I am _never_ out of beer.” She blinked, feigning innocence the nodded toward the pantry. “It just might be warm,” she said wrinkling her nose a bit.

“Might as well be out of beer,” he grumbled.

Hailey laughed as she walked to the pantry and pulled out a 12 pack and handed it to him. “Put it in the fridge and I’ll grab the tequila.” She grabbed the bottle, 2 glasses and gestured for him to follow her in to the living room.

They sat comfortably on the couch and made small talk, each doing a shot each then sipping their tequila.

“It’s good I’m not in till noon tomorrow,” Hailey said, running a hand through her ponytail. “Between being back, flying in, and this,” she held up her glass, “It’s going to be a sleep in kind of morning.”

Jay nodded, finishing his sip. “Speaking of which, okay if I crash here? I know it’s your first night back but…”

She interrupted him by tilting her head and giving him an expression that said the same as if she’d used the words _are you kidding me?_

He smirked as he took another sip. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

Hailey rolled her eyes a bit as she sipped from her glass as well. She didn’t know what prompted her to ask the next question but the words slipped out of her mouth as she ran a finger around the rim of her glass. “See anyone while I was gone?”

He nearly choked. “See anyone? Hailey, I saw a lot of people. Some I wish I hadn’t.”

She grinned at him and shook her head.

“But if you’re asking did I _meet_ anyone, start _seeing_ anyone…you should know the answer to that.”

She was confused and wasn’t sure if he was kidding as she looked up at him. “How’s that?”

He didn’t know if was the drinks or the company (finally!) or a combination of the two that had him feeling so bold and able-tongued but he forged ahead, taking advantage of whatever it was. “I’m not looking to meet anyone Hailey,” he said, his voice low and serious. “Why would I when I have you?”

The small smile that had lingered on her evaporated. She shook her head once. “I don’t follow.”

“Yeah you do,” Jay breathed quietly his eyes locked directly on hers. “I don’t want to meet anyone Hailey. No one else could make me feel….” He trailed off and restarted. “You’re the one I want to spend my time with, to talk to, to… _be_ with. No one else could touch the way I feel when I’m with you.”

Hailey put her glass down, done drinking. It must’ve been that she’d already had too much to think the she was hearing what she thought she was hearing. “Jay…” she began but couldn’t continue.

“Tell me you don’t feel the same.”


	2. Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First night back from NYC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They're all Dick Wolf's.

_“Tell me you don’t feel the same.”_

Hailey couldn’t. She tried to say something, anything, but her mouth could only open and close weakly, couldn’t produce sound. She bought time by nodding her head lightly in agreement, never blinking. She found the ability to say two quiet words. “I can’t.”

A small self-satisfied smile played across his features.

“I don’t know how this is going to sound,” he began softly, scratching at his cheek. “But when you were gone, when you weren’t here, it was like…there was this…” He took a breath. “You weren’t here and it made everything just off, _wrong_.”

She continued looking at him, openly and honestly. Jay always felt heard when they spoke and this was no exception. She wasn’t biding time until she could speak, she was listening to him.

She said his name softly. “I’m so sorry. Leaving like that wasn’t fair. And it wasn’t my call. But yeah, I get it. Being in New York was surreal for so many reasons, but the most was that you weren’t there. I couldn’t look to you, I didn’t have you.”

The air between them was heavy as the things neither thought they’d ever say or hear were mingling around out in the open.

Jay’s eyes were on her and Hailey could only hold his look for so long. She didn’t know what to say next or what to do. Before the awkward level could go up another notch she flashed him a quick smile and grabbed her glass, standing and walking to the kitchen. She had placed it on the island and stood at it, getting lost in what was happening, had just happened in her living room.

Being back with Jay, it was like being immediately drunk on him. Like being away and then back with him overloaded her with all of the things she missed within a second. She could say anything and simply feel free. That wasn’t her norm and she was struggling to find a grasp on reality because surely this wasn’t it.

But what she felt next certainly was.

She felt him behind her before she heard the soft footsteps stop and she stiffened. Not out of fear but out of proximity. He was literally right behind her. She could feel body heat, his breath in her hair, and she was certain that she’d forgotten how to breathe.

Especially when she heard him whisper her name and felt his hand take hold of her hip.

Reflexively she closed her eyes and sighed, leaning back against him as his other hand found her other hip. They stood that way for a moment before Jay took a risk. Going to her, saying her name and putting his hand on her in a way he never had before was all done as if on auto pilot. And he was grateful. Now though, the next move was on him and he was fully aware of her body against his, the smell of her hair, and what he wanted to do next.

His hands began to move slowly, dragging his fingers from her hips up to her waist and met in the middle of her stomach. He held her to him like that for a moment before moving them again, this time turning her toward him.

He didn’t know what he wanted to see, what he expected to see when she faced him but when he looked down at her he saw everything that was perfect in that moment. Clear blue eyes, wonder but no fear, want, desire, a willingness to let him lead.

Quietly she said his name and to anyone else it may have seemed that more words would follow, but he knew, just from the way she said it, that she was with him. And even if he had questioned it, the fact that she reached up on her tip toes and snaked her arms around his neck would have been the last of the confirmation he needed. His own hand left her waist and curled around the back of her neck while the other palmed her back, pushing her against him. He dipped down and his lips found hers, grazing them at first. But Hailey could only tolerate that for a few seconds before she was kissing him back trying to keep her own desire tempered but failing miserably.

He was in love with the feeling of her pressed against him but he also wanted to kiss her harder, deeper. He had to sacrifice one for the other, just for a moment. Easily he lifted her and sat her atop the kitchen island. Her knees parted and he moved in between them, now able to deepen his kisses and hold her tightly.

It satisfied them for a few minutes the kissing and beginnings of exploration with hands but again it wasn’t enough. Hailey pulled back and used the pad of her thumb to slowly wipe at the corner of her bottom lip, eyes never leaving Jay’s.

He groaned her name in response, tilting his head.

She blinked at him with dark eyes. “Upstairs.” She moved to drop down off the island but Jay dipped his head down first, catching her by surprise as he instead pulled her roughly to him and kissed her again. She understood and wrapped her legs around his waist, crossing her ankles behind him.

He got them to her bedroom albeit with a few bumps, some curses by Jay as he tried to maneuver the stairs without putting Hailey down, and some grins and laughs by them both as they took breaks with her against walls as Jay trailed hot wetness down her jawline, neck, collarbone. Nearing the top of the stairs, Hailey spoke intensely between kisses, “Bed.Now.”

“You complaining?” Jay responded, grinning as he held her chin. “You’re the one with the second floor.”

The next kiss began but didn’t last long before Hailey murmured, “Shut up and get me there.”

Jay was on board with that. He pulled her upward and she buried her face in the crook of his neck, nibbling and kissing the whole way. She picked her head up as he turned a corner and spoke. “Here.” He kicked the half-closed door open and Hailey scooted down planting her feet on the floor, her hands pulling down Jay’s sides as she got to his belt. She pulled his shirt from his jeans and had just pulled the belt prong when Jay stilled her. “Wait,” he murmured as her brow furrowed. “Hang tight.” The way he said it was a promise and she looked to him, allowing him to set the next move.

He walked her backward until the back of her knees hit the bed.

“We doing this?” he checked in, breathing hard.

Her breathing matched his. “Oh yeah.”

Immediately he stepped to her and his hands slid down to her ass for the first time and she continued her work from a moment ago. She took a detour to dip her hands under his now untucked shirt and felt the skin around his torso and back, before roaming back to the front and cupping the bulge in his jeans while kissing him.

Jay’s hips pushed against her as he reached for the hem of her top and pulled it up and off. Before moving on, his hands found the tie in her ponytail holding the strands together and pulled it down, letting her hair spill. His hands went in it, tangling his fingers through and leaned her down to the bed. He took a position above her, bracketing her between his arms as he reached behind her to work the bra clasp as she worked his belt, button and zipper, dipping her hand down and sliding between skin and boxer briefs. Jay groaned feeling her fingers find and wrap around him gently. He forced himself to close his eyes and pause for just a second, relish this moment and look at her beneath him. When he opened them again it was to see her looking straight up at him. He didn’t think it possible but he wanted her even more than a mere moment ago. In her eyes, where he could always see her thoughts he saw the same.

Hailey had felt him still. “You okay?” she whispered.

Jay nodded solemnly before speaking, his eyes glazed with want and he smiled. “Oh yeah.”

She smiled back.

Hands, lips, and tongues explored skin as their remaining clothes came off. Loud, quiet, and throaty moans, sighs and whispers of each other’s names were heard.

They lay there now, both completely spent. Jay lay an arm across Hailey as he looked up to her ceiling and tried to get his breathing back under control. Hailey lay beside him, her eyes closed, still coming down from the last high Jay had given her. Thoughts slowly filtered through her brain as she became more aware of her surroundings, the most notable being that this was never on her radar in terms of how she’d be spending her first night back in Chicago.

As she thought she lightly traced a finger around the arm that was across her connecting freckles and drawing swirled patterns.

“You’re gonna put me to sleep,” he murmured, looking over at her.

“ _This_ is what’ll put you to sleep?” she sassed lightly. “I’m thinking maybe we did something wrong then…”

He inhaled deeply before moving his arm. He moved it from being across and instead dug it under, pulling her closer to him. “C’mere.” He turned his head and kissed the top of hers, sighing.

Hailey bit her lower lip and adjusted the sheets a bit over her. “I gotta ask—“

Jay huffed out a quick burst of tired laughter. “Knew you couldn’t let your brain rest—we’re gonna have to work on that--”

Hailey nodded and rolled her eyes a bit, indicating that yeah, yeah, she knows, she’s heard it before.

“ _Anyway_ ,” she emphasized, and turned over on to her elbow, facing him. She gave him a sly smile. “Were you thinking of this when you picked me up today?”

A sardonic laugh from Jay gave her the answer before he spoke. “I wish.” He looked over at her and was quiet and sweet once more. “No, this was…an amazing surprise.”

“Hm,” she agreed, nodding solemnly. The after sex part had always been tough for Hailey, she was always unsure of what words to use, if any, how long to stay, how long before she had to feign the early morning or reason her bed needed to be emptied. But for right now, she lived in this moment and moved over a bit, laying her head against Jay’s chest and listened to the steady thumping of his heartbeat while he took over her earlier task and now traced lazy patterns on her arm and shoulder.

Jay was lost in thought. Even though he knew she’d been teasing, he’d been truthful in saying he hadn’t thought of the night ending this way when he’d heard about her arrival, hadn’t thought of it on the drive to the airport or even when he saw her for the first time in weeks and he felt like he couldn’t breathe properly. That’s not to say that he’d never thought about this because he had. He _so_ had. But even in his wildest thoughts he hadn’t felt the way he had making love to her, hearing her say his name, laying here with her afterward. This was nothing he thought he could have planned because he hadn’t known that this feeling, whatever it was, had existed.

He’d felt her shift then rest her head against him. Absently his hand went back to her skin and he began to explore with his fingertip, feeling the smooth skin, the rise of freckles, the dip as he made his way over then down her shoulder blade. He went back up toward her neck, dragging his fingers along. He felt her stiffen ever so slightly as his finger slid down just a bit then immediately back up. His brow furrowed as he tried to make out what it was he’d felt there. He didn’t have the chance to find out as Hailey rose and climbed on him, sitting up in a straddle across him. She smirked and he found it damn sexy as his hands went to her waist.

She put her hand up as she stilled, feeling him twitch a bit beneath her. The smirk was gone and she was serious. “First. There’s no tickling.” Her head shook a bit to emphasize the words. “Not even a little bit.”

Jay nodded, learning something new about her. “Not a problem.” Then probed, “What’s second?”

The smirk was back. “Second,” she adjusted herself on him as she leaned down. “is seconds.” She kissed him not as softly as he thought she was going to and he definitely didn’t expect her to break off the kiss to bite his bottom lip before leaning back up to see him more clearly. “You up for it?”

“Why does that sound like a dare?” he questioned playfully in response to her tone.

She grinned wickedly and began to scoot down his body. “Let’s just see if you can keep up.”

As he felt the warmth of her mouth around him he let out a contented sigh and settled deep in to his pillow. Evidently it was going to be a long night. He didn’t doubt that he could keep up. But he’d have fun—make sure she had fun—testing the limits.

Jay woke slowly, feeling full and happy. He felt a soft sheet against his torso, the early morning sun coming in through the window was warm, and he’d slept better than he could remember. His arm rolled out beside him and he felt as though he was missing something, that something should have been there. He pushed himself to wakefulness and opened his eyes. This wasn’t his bedroom. This wasn’t his apartment. This wasn’t his bed. He lay back against the pillow again and remembered how he got here. And who should have been beside him. Hailey.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The morning after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They still belong to DW.
> 
> Not in love with this chapter but it's a bridge to further the story so here it is.

_Jay woke slowly, feeling full and happy. There was a soft sheet against his torso, the early morning sun coming in through the window was warm, and he’d slept better than he could remember. His arm rolled out beside him and he felt as though he was missing something, that something should have been there. He pushed himself to wakefulness and opened his eyes. This wasn’t his bedroom. This wasn’t his apartment. This wasn’t his bed. He lay back against the pillow again and remembered how he got here. And who should have been beside him. Hailey._

Jay quickly surveyed the clothing scattered on the floor and pulled on his jeans. He made his way downstairs to find his partner seated in the kitchen sipping coffee, thumbing through a magazine. and wearing the shirt he’d been looking for.

“Mm, so that’s where that went,” he greeted, kissing the top of her head from and holding her from behind while tugging on the material. “Morning,”

She smiled. “Looks better on me.”

“Mm hmm. No argument there. Got any more of that?” he pointed to the mug in front of her.

“Yep, just have to push the button,” she nodded toward the Keurig with the mug in place.

He did what she said and leaned forward on the island facing her while it brewed. “You’re up early…considering.” He smirked.

She laughed a bit, closed mouthed. “Yeah well, sleep and I have a pretty complicated relationship.” She shrugged.

Jay nodded. “Copy that.” He turned and grabbed the now ready coffee and returned to his spot and stance at the island, the mug in front of him. “So last night was uh, pretty amazing.” He ran a hand through his hair and grinned.

“I would have to agree,” she closed the magazine and pushed it to the side.

He knew her too well and huffed out a short sigh. “But…?”

She tilted her head at him as if it should have been obvious. “But we work together. We’re _partners_. I don’t even begin to know how to connect those dots.”

Jay sipped at his drink. “Do they need to be connected right now? I mean, we’re not even _at_ work so I think, at least for right now, we’re good.”

Putting it off wouldn’t do them any favors. She wanted to talk about it, make sure they were both on the same page, make sure they both understood this had a chance of not working out in their favor, to be ready for it. But he looked incredibly sexy standing in her kitchen drinking coffee while shirtless. She sighed and pushed her stool back, putting her hands up in a show of surrender. “Fine, you win.” She glanced at the clock on her stove and did some quick mental math. 7:06 with work at noon. Hailey fixed him with a pointed look and stood, walking toward him slowly around the island. “So, you said you were looking for this?” She pulled at the bottom hem of his shirt as it skimmed near the top of her thighs.

Jay played along, smirked and straightened to face her. “I was.”

She bit her lip as she stopped, looking thoughtful. “I think there’s something somewhere about possession being 9/10th of the law…?”

He grinned and nodded. “Oh we’re gonna bring law in to this? Mm, well how about we talk about stolen property then?” He moved around the corner and reached for her, pulling her to him.

Hailey’s brow furrowed a bit. “What’s the penalty for that?”

“It’s hefty.” Jay’s eyes were darkening, matching Hailey’s.

“How ‘bout I just give it back?” she asked quietly.

“That might work.” He was staring at her.

She could feel the rise and fall of her chest and her heart beating wildly as she pulled the shirt up and over her head.

Jay gulped as she stood in front of him now in nothing but a pair of black underwear. He caught it as the soft thump of the shirt hit his chest. “Here you go.”

Hailey was great at faking bravery but the level of vulnerability she was working with right now was making the brave and sexy façade crumble fast. Giving of herself didn’t come easily. With Jay, right now, she felt it was the most worthwhile effort she could ever make, but again with Jay, right now, it was also the most absolutely terrifying place to be.

He saw her shiver and continued to watch her with a closed smile. What she was trying to do was adorable. And damn sexy.

She swallowed and flicked her eyes in the direction of the staircase. “Guess I’ll grab another one.”

Hailey hadn’t even fully turned before Jay’s sudden grip on her wrist kept her from moving. “Or you could stay right here.” His lips met hers urgently as his hands went to her bare breasts. The moan that escaped her caught her by surprise but not more than Jay who spun her to the stove wall and pushed her up against it.

His lips made their way from hers to her jawline, then down her neck and collarbone. Hailey’s hands fumbled to undo his zipper and button.

At some point that neither remembered they’d made their way the short distance to the living room where Hailey pulled away from Jay’s kisses to palm her way down his chest, her mouth following leaving wet hot kisses all the way down.

When she was low in front of him she relieved him of his jeans and looked up at him from her lashes, smiling in want. Jay thought he might lose it then and there but he willed himself to focus. Feeling the warmth of Hailey’s mouth around him was his reward for not losing.

They lay on the floor now, under a throw blanket Jay’d grabbed from the couch, dozing lightly. Hailey’s head was on his shoulder with her hand at his side between them and her other splayed against his stomach. Jay alternated between running fingers gently through her hair and resting his fingertips against her shoulder. Things were quiet and content as they lay together with Jay’s fingertip now at the back of her neck and he sought the dip he’d felt the night before. Hailey roused and pulled away, stretching and moaning a bit as her limbs protested being moved.

She was up and looking around. “Where’s your shirt? I’m gonna borrow it for a minute.” She gave him a look, daring and teasing, as she saw, reached for, and grabbed it, lifting it above her head, then grabbed her underwear.

“Borrow being the key word there.” Jay closed his eyes. “I can’t even think about clothes right now.” He was thinking about the dip, the one that he seemingly wasn’t meant to touch.

Best just to be forward. “What’s on the back of your neck?”

She knew the question would be asked sooner or later, and she was ready to hear it but not so ready to answer. “Skin?” she huffed smartly, standing now dressed.

“Funny.” He groaned and pushed himself up to a sitting position, still under the throw, and grabbed for his jeans. He stood, pulling them up, zipping as he said her name.

“Jay,” she replied with firmness. “It’s nothing. I was a kid, I got hurt. Happens.” She shrugged.

“Hey,” he caught her around her waist. “You know you can tell me.” His face was serious. He knew some things about her childhood, could take a guess about the nature of what happened. “Before _this_ \--- you could talk to me, and now…,” he inhaled deeply, running a hand down to smooth the back of her hair. “I hope you’ll tell me…more.” He smiled a bit down at her. Sex was one thing, emotionally connecting was another. It wasn’t his strength in the past, but with her, they were already on such solid footing that it seemed an easy reach.

Hailey smiled up at him a bit, having heard him, rolling the words around in her head and heart. Answering with a non-answer and a quick smile usually got her out of moments like these. “I’m gonna grab a shower.” She reached up to give him a chaste peck on the lips and he hadn’t released his hands from her waist.

“Are you gonna talk to me?” He asked quietly.

Her mouth twitched a bit. “Does it have to be now? This morning?” It was one thing to be in this, to have cracked open the door and put a foot inside, it was another to just blast it with c4 and pull everything out at once.

Jay smirked just a bit, having never been the one to initiate serious talk so early in the morning let alone a relationship, if that’s where this was heading. When he spoke he did so softly. “No. I just want to make sure you do.”

This was too much of a conversation for such a great morning and only one cup of coffee. “I’m gonna grab that shower.” Her lips flattened as she walked out of the room.

Jay pushed out a breath. He pushed too far and he knew it. This was their first morning together after their first night, her first time at home in weeks, and he’d pushed too hard. He knew she’d talk to him eventually, but he wasn’t entirely certain he’d get the whole truth right away.

“You’re up.” Hailey came out of the bathroom, dressed and toweling her hair just as her phone lit up and buzzed on the nightstand. Jay turned his head from where he sat on the bed, scrolling through his own phone. He looked from it to her and raised his eyebrow expectantly. “Voight.”

A sigh of near defeat left her as she grabbed for it and crawled over Jay to sit beside him.

“He wants me in before 12.” She said reading the text.

“You’re gonna be fine.” He told her, knowingly. “You killed it in New York. He knows that.”

She gave him a tight smile, wishing she could be as sure as he sounded. Jay hadn’t been in the office with Voight that night. Hadn’t seen what she had, felt what she had. And truthfully, she hadn’t really processed through the reason she’d been sent there in the first place. She’d only focused on doing well, showing her boss that she wasn’t going to falter no matter what. And in addition, she didn’t know for sure if Jay or anyone else in the unit was aware of _why_ Voight had sent her to New York.

Hailey was well aware that her world as she knew it could very easily end within the next two hours. If Voight wanted her out she’d be out. She’d never asked Jay what he knew about her hasty trip to New York; they’d both simply played it as though it was exactly as Voight had spun it, FBI task force needed a loan out officer and he’d recommended her. Voight had told her a few months ago that doing what she had would eat her alive. He was wrong. That’s not what would do it, seeing Jay disappointed in her, that’s what would.

She knew her current world was one of make believe, one where she was still a good cop with a stellar reputation, where she could freely love her partner and feel worthy of his love in return, where they could build something together, push repeat on the past day through this morning. It could all crumble so soon. Hailey was torn between being a realist and being happy that she had this even for such a short time, and being a coward knowing she was taking advantage of Jay possibly not knowing everything about who she really might be.

“You know we’re playing pretend here.” Her voice was tight and terse when she spoke.

“We back to this?” He huffed lightly. “Listen. We’ve both dated people we worked with and no, they didn’t work out.” For very different reasons, Jay mused, still never really knowing how the thing with Ruzek had ever happened or why it ended. “But at the end of the day, Hailey we’re different people, and speaking for myself I know I’ve come a long way since then. I know you don’t want to lose anything—neither do I. I want all of it--all of this.” His arm snaked around her waist as he looked down at her and smiled. “I think we can make it work.”

“You make it sound easy,” she quipped lightly as her head leaned against his shoulder.

“No. I make it sound what it is. Doable. Might not be easy at all but I bet it’s worth trying.”

It was quiet for a moment before Hailey spoke again, her voice low and her words vague. “We’re gonna have to talk about some things.”

Jay didn’t answer immediately but began rubbing her arm up and down, shoulder to elbow. “Yeah…we are. And we will.” He leaned over to kiss her head, then met her lips when she looked up to him and offered her kiss to him.

Despite her reservations, hearing Jay lay it out like that, being supportive and kind and sweet, was winning her over. When she spoke her response was simple. “Okay.”

He was slightly taken aback, thinking he had a few more rounds to go. “‘Okay’? That’s it?”

“Yeah. You were very convincing.” She replied lightly, smiling as she hit his leg lightly. “Now, I need to finish getting ready. Be late for Voight, might as well not show up.”


	4. Part 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hailey meets with Voight along with flashbacks to the night she left the district and how the team was told she was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They allllll belong to Dick Wolf.
> 
> Hoping this isn't disjointed between flashbacks. Please let me know if it is and I'll edit. Thanks! And thank you for all the kudos and comments!!!

The coffee was hot and familiar both in taste and feel as she held the paper cup with the 22 on it in her hands outside of the 21st District. Jay had gone home to change and she’d left not much later to get a coffee and head in to meet with Voight before starting work again.

Hailey had driven the long way in relishing in the familiar sights as she drove past them. Now she stood outside of her district, sipping coffee and watching the patrol officers, detectives and other employees walking in, out, and around the building. She smiled, standing there, watching the routine around her. Finally, she checked the time and made her way up the front steps and through the double doors, pausing to allow a few officers to exit before she entered.

While she waited for them to pass she glanced inside and caught herself in Trudy’s eyeline. She took a breath and looked down for a second while a knowing, crooked smile began to grow on her face. She knew this was her first test coming back. Facing Platt. She walked in and up to the desk sergeant, stopping to sign in at her counter.

“Detective,” the sergeant greeted her dryly. “Nice to see you back in one piece.”

Hailey looked up at her as she put the pen down. “You miss me?”

“Not as much as some people, but sure, there was a lack of swinging ponytails while you were gone. Burgess tried but hers just doesn’t have the same bounce.”

Hailey nodded with an accepting small if not wary smile. “Well. Happy to be back, swinging.” She took a step away to head toward the stairs when Trudy spoke again.

“Upton.” she called. “Never stop.”

Hailey nodded a bit and pursed her lips as she turned and made her way to the stairs, remembering her last exchange with Platt as she scanned her palm and punched in her code.

She had shut down her computer grabbed her coat, and left everything as it was on her desk. As she made her way down the stairs the sight of Voight’s face looming over her burned into her brain, his voice still loud in her ears on a loop as he swept the contents of his desk to the floor. She was rattled and trying to maintain her composure as she made her way to the desk. She stood there looking at Platt’s back as the woman worked at a file cabinet. Hailey didn’t make any sound, just stood there, wound tight, until she was noticed.

Trudy stopped what she was doing and walked the few steps to the counter, eyeing the blonde detective.

Hailey’s voice sounded far away, detatched and quiet. “You have something for me?”

Trudy lips twitched as she reached under the counter and produced a large envelope, pushing it toward Hailey. As her fingers went to pick it up Platt palmed it hard stopping her from taking it.

Blinking, Hailey looked up at her.

“Hailey,” Trudy’s voice was soft. “you can do this. Keep your head down, do the work and do it the way they tell you to. The feds work in black and white- don’t add _any_ thing, don’t color anything in.”

Hailey couldn’t take part in the volley of conversation so she simply nodded a bit, slowly, and raised her eyebrows. The message was the same all around her. She huffed out a small rueful sigh as she slid the envelope out from Platt’s hand and turned. She walked out of the 21st District for the last time for the better part of a month.

Now as she climbed the last step and the bullpen was open before her she stopped, taking in the sight. Strangely, her emotions began to bubble up. This was her home, where she felt she belonged, and it was right here in front of her. If anything, being away from it had made her appreciate it; The low tech, slower paced, team centered approach, the lack of quick quips and industrial steel. The desks were workplaces but with small touches of individuality if you knew where to look. As she walked to her own desk her and touched the top of the empty space her breath hitched. It was vacant, only the bare necessities were on it—computer, phone, an empty tumbler meant for pens. She was about to open the drawers, see if her gum was still inside, the picture of her brothers, the paper clips she seemed to accumulate but never have enough of.

The sound of a throat clearing stopped her and she looked over her shoulder. Hank Voight stood in the doorway of his office. “Welcome back.”

Hailey straightened and turned to him. “Sarge.”

He nodded in to his office, inviting her in. She followed and once inside looked around at the familiar room. Nothing had changed. He gestured to the chair she’d last sat in. Hailey looked at it with hesitancy remembering the last time she’d sat there. But this was now. She took a breath then took a seat.

Her boss sat diagonal to his desk, swaying a bit in his seat. “You have an easy flight?”

Her brow furrowed briefly. Small talk? This was unexpected. A shoulder rose and she shook her head a bit. “Yeah, all uneventful, five by five.”

He nodded, taking in her body language and demeanor. Reading her as much as she’d let herself be read accurately. “So the last time you were in here,” he began.

Hailey quickly cut him off with a curt shake of her head. “Yeah we don’t have to do that.” She didn’t feel the need to re-live that meeting. He’d sent her out, she did the work, and now she was back. She wanted to move on.

“Hm.” He grunted lightly, then reached for a moderately thick file and opened it, flipping papers until he found the ones he wanted and fanned them out. “SAC Castille was impressed with your work, review notes from your team all gave superior ratings….seems you made your mark, not that I’m surprised.”

She was trying but couldn’t get a read on where he was taking this conversation. “I did the work I was sent there to do.” She surmised.

“Hailey,” he sat up straight and looked at her directly. “I sent you there to give you a chance to get your head screwed on straight.”

She couldn’t help the small sigh that escaped her as she looked quickly to the floor.

He ignored it and continued. “You want to go down by IAD, the ASA? Then you pick up right where you left off, believe me, Hailey, it’ll happen. But what you can't do, what you _don't_ do is you don't put this unit at risk.”

He tapped a finger on his desk then pointed to the wall behind her. “In here I can work with you, protect you if need be. Out there in that bullpen, that’s your spot. It’s where you belong.” He paused, hoping to let his words sink in. “You do your own thing? Then you’re on your own. I can’t help you.”

She mulled over his words, unable to find anything to disagree with. But she did have a question. “Why’d you send me to New York? Why the FBI?” He could have suspended her, fired her, done nothing and let her slide. But the FBI? That was a hat trick.

He sighed. “Timing.”

She didn’t understand that. More must be coming so she waited.

“Bescera called that night. Gael Rodriguez’s arrest was fast tracked across her desk and she had questions, namely about how fast, how neatly it all magically tied up.” He paused and nodded just a bit. “You made an impression during that last meeting. And the New York task force needed a loan out.” He shrugged. "Meant to be."

Hailey’s mouth twitched as she remembered losing her cool. Voight had had to call her out and she’d only barely been able to keep her anger from escalating. Her boss had saved her ass, she realized. And the task force hadn't been purposeful, it had just been good timing, like he said. A win-win, she assumed, as far as he was concerned.

“I’m glad you’re back Hailey. And we are gonna talk about what happened, but get your feet wet first. Get back to your routine, meet up with Jay and check in on his cases, get yourself right. Then we’ll talk.”

Hailey nodded slowly, realizing this was it. She really was back. The path, as she could see it, was clear for her to start again. She looked at her boss, waiting to feel…something. But she was reminded instead of the sound and image of things hitting the floor and him standing over her. She blinked a few times, clearing them from her minds-eye view. Her lips quirked up in to a practiced smile. “Thanks, Sarge. I won’t let you down.”

As she left and closed the door behind her Voight leaned back in his chair and sighed. That hadn’t been an easy talk, not that he’d expected it to be. Truthfully, if he stopped to really think about it it could only have gone worse. He’d half expected an angry Upton to return, pissed off at him and still detaching emotionally. He was glad to see he was mostly wrong. Something in her still concerned him though. It had only been the few weeks and he hadn’t expected a miracle to walk back in, but while Hailey had always been more closed off and kept things close to the vest, he’d seen her opening up after partnering with Halstead. He’d kept them together after seeing how well they worked together, how good they seemed to be for each other.

Up until the last few months. Losing her CI seemed to be the nexus for her spiral. She hadn’t been able to bear the pseudo responsibility for Cameron dying. Maybe if it hadn’t been right in front of her, he mused, maybe if she didn’t care for her damn CIs the way she had and treated them as friends, things would have been different. But they weren’t—and that version of Hailey had dimmed dark. There were no more caring feelings toward her CIs. He’d seen her treatment of them change, now they were assets, people to work, now she wouldn’t blink before reneging on a deal if she thought their info wasn’t valid, thought she was being hustled.

The detective that had just left his office seemed to have softened a bit from when she’d left, but there was still something there he thought, something dull, like a fire that had gone out but red embers hid beneath in the ash. He’d keep an eye on her, have Jay do the same and get his thoughts.

Halstead. Hank grunted a bit to himself, as he thought about that detective. He’d been nearly destroyed by Erin’s departure, had only healed, in his opinion, with the benefit of time and his partnership with Hailey. Normally he’d have called them in when he noticed the whatever it was between them. He knew they weren’t dating, weren’t even seeing each other, but there was something there. The fact that they didn’t act it on was what stopped Hank from having the talk. They were partners first, put the job first, and that he could respect.

Knowing he’d have to share the news of her departure had weighed on him and he wanted to do it fast and early. He remembered how his delivery of the news had gone.

Jay had been the last one in, bounding up the stairs and toward his desk with two cups of coffee. His face bore some confusion as he placed the coffees down and looked around the room. “Upton running late?”

Shoulder shrugs and murmurings of ‘no idea’ and ‘I don’t know’ came toward him. He sat at his desk and pulled out his phone to check his texts. No new ones but there was a voicemail from earlier. First thing he noted was that it was from Hailey, but seeing the time she’d left it vanquished any calm he might have felt at hearing from her. His brow furrowed as he put the phone to his ear and listened to her voice, soft and tired. _Jay, hey it’s me. Figured I might miss you this morning… Listen, uh, I had a talk with Voight last night and_ He heard her take a breath and release it. _I’m at the airport now, heading to New York for a few weeks to work with the FBI task force there…. Umm, I’m just… Jay, I’m so sorry….I’m sorry I didn’t get to talk to you first, to tell you what--, to say good bye._ He heard a sniff, like she was crying. _So I’ll call you when I can and um, take care of yourself ok? And….Jay? I’m sorry._ There was a few more seconds of background airport noise and then the call ended. He was left stunned at his desk. New York? Gone? What the hell? He started to turn and stand but Voight was already coming out of his office and calling for everyone’s attention.

“You all notice Upton’s not here this morning. Well—“ His hands found the front pocket of his jeans. “That’s not changing any time soon. She’s been tasked out to the Feds in New York for a few weeks.” He’d been looking around at the members of the unit but now he directed his gaze to Jay. “She’s coming back, it’s not permanent. They needed a loan out officer till one of theirs comes back up out of a UC assignment.” He went back to looking around the room, seeing the looks of surprise, the murmurings of rhetorical questions, the glances to Jay. He saw the looks of confusion, anger, frustration brewing in Halstead and again looked to him when he spoke. “You want more information, ask Upton. Till then, you all have work to do.”

Voight had gone back in to his office but left his door open. Jay sat at his desk, biting the inside of his cheek before pushing back hard from his desk. He grabbed the coffee he’d gotten for his partner and threw it hard in the trash can beside her desk and stalked in to the kitchen.

Ruzek gave him a minute then followed, finding him leaning straight-armed against the counter.

“Hey man, you good?” Jay didn’t answer so he tried again. “Um, FBI task force, that sounds like a great opportunity. And New York…wow…”

Jay’s head snapped to the side and he glared at Adam. “Maybe you should ask Voight if you can take her place.”

Adam sighed. “Look, I know you guys are close….and Sarge said she’s coming back. It’s not like-“

Jay cut him off with a, “Whatever man.” and walked out, back to his desk.

Burgess walked in just as Jay was huffing out and looked to Ruzek. “That looked like it went well.”

Adam took a deep breath. “It’s gonna be a fun couple a’weeks.” he near groaned and looked out the door to where Jay sat, starting his work on the desktop, angrily taking out his frustrations on the keyboard as he typed.

“Ye **p** ,” Burgess breathed as she watched the same scene.


	5. mini chap 5, Jay finds out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jay finds out that Hailey is returning to Chicago (short)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not mine, All Dick Wolf's

Voight had just given his team their assignments. “Jay, hang back a minute.”

Jay slowed the reach for his jacket and looked from the others gathering their things back to his boss. He nodded.

Voight too watched the rest of the unit grab jackets, holster guns and filter away down the stairs until it was just the two of them remaining in the bullpen. He walked a few steps closer to the detective. “Listen, I got word from New York, Upton’s on her way back today.” He put his hands in the front pocket of his jeans. “Just waiting for confirmation that she made the flight.” He paused. “Thought you might want to have a more flexible afternoon.”

Jay wasn’t quite sure what to say. He felt just as blindsided by her return as he had by her departure. His eyes widened a bit as he felt the onslaught of an avalanche of feelings rushing at him. Thankfully his face only showed faint surprise as he rubbed the back of his neck and nodded at Hank. “Yeah.”

He sat down heavily in his seat as he tried to wrap his brain around the fact that Hailey was coming back. At all. Today. He knew both she and Voight had said it wasn’t permanent, but somewhere deep down he’d reserved the thought, the preparation, that it was. That she wouldn’t come back to Chicago, to the unit….to him. He heard the creak of the floor as his boss stepped away to ready what he needed to meet up with the team. “Hey Sarge?” He looked at his boss as the reality was starting to settle in to him. “Thank you.”

Voight just looked at him and nodded, grunting a mild “Hm” in return. He surprised Jay by placing a hand on his shoulder before turning to retrieve his things.

His jacket on and keys in hand Voight walked past Jay’s desk. “I’ll text you her flight information as soon as I get it.”

Jay nodded and as Hank descended the steps Jay leaned back in his chair and folded his hands across his chest. A smile grew as he looked to the empty desk in front of him, the desk that at some point soon would have his partner sitting behind it again.

He checked his phone for what would be the first of many times as he waited for Hank’s text. After nearly an hour he moved locations, and now sat behind the wheel of his truck. He’d been there for no more than 15 minutes when his phone chimed and he saw what he’d been waiting for.

_SW #4323 confirmed._

_Arriving 2:15, on time._

Jay glanced toward the top of his screen. 1:12. He broke in to a grin and put the truck in Drive.


	6. part 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Morning at work

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They all belong to DW, none belong to me.
> 
> This is just a short update. :-)

Jay pulled in to the lot and parked. When he noticed Hailey’s jeep parked a few spots over he broke in to a self-conscious grin. He grabbed the two coffees from the cup holder, kicked the truck door closed and made his way inside the building.

“Morning Trudy,” he smiled as he stopped to sign in. He scribbled his name quickly and then picked up the cups again, turning to go.

“My, my, my” Trudy drawled out slowly. “Take a look at that 1000 watt smile this morning. And me without my ray-bans.” She gave a mild scowl, watching him. “What’s with that little pep in your step this morning?”

Jay shook his head and shrugged nonchalantly. “Nothing. Just woke up on the right side of the bed I guess.”

“Uh huh, so I guess that extra coffee you got there is for me, then. Really you shouldn’t have but it’s good that you did.” She reached across the desk, open handed, looking at him expectantly. “Hope you got my order right, it’d be a shame if you had to go back.”

“Uhhhh, Sarge…” Jay stalled trying to think of a way he didn’t have to hand over the cup or explain why he had it.

“Pft, y’know what, forget it. It’s losing heat by the second and by the time you fork it over it’s gonna be ice.”

He began to back up, “Okay then…”

“Wait, Halstead!”

Jay had already turned and stepped away toward the stairs. Now he glanced back over his shoulder.

“Who you gonna give it to?”

“Give what to?” He turned back to face her.

Trudy gave him a look and eyed the coffee pointedly.

He was fumbling for an answer when Trudy let him off the hook.

“Your partner’s up there.” She looked up for a second as she smirked. “We’re an hour behind what she’s used to now. Bet she’d appreciate the extra jolt.”

“You don’t say,” Jay played along, nodding. “I better get up there then.”

“Yeah, you better.” She condescended. “Mm hmm.” She watched him turn back and head upstairs to Intelligence, huffing out a short laugh as he went.

Jay was at the top of the stairs scanning the bullpen for his partner. The room was empty but he saw the coat on the back of her chair and smiled. On the way to the locker room he passed the kitchen and saw her standing, looking out the window while a pot of coffee brewed on the counter beside her. He walked up behind her, quickly checking behind him to make sure the bullpen was still empty, and kissed the back of her head as he hand wrapped around her to offer the coffee.

Hailey startled then immediately relaxed seeing over her shoulder who it was.

“Jumpy, huh?” He grinned as she turned around to face him mirroring his smile.

“Well, it’s not every morning I’m greeted at work by some guy sneaking up behind me bearing coffee and kisses.” She retorted.

“Yeah? Get used to it.” Jay quipped, raising an eyebrow.

Hailey raised her cup to him slightly. “Thanks for this.” They began walking back out to the bullpen. “Last night---and this morning,” she shot him a look. “are starting to catch up to me.” She sipped from her cup.

“Hey, some of that’s on you.”

Hailey chuckled then nodded toward Voight’s office, letting him know their boss was inside. They sat at their respective desks and smiled at each other before getting started on their work.

It wasn’t long before the other members of their unit arrived. Greetings, hugs and laughter were all around and soon the hum of the team at work was in full force. There was no current case to work so they were following up on leads of older cases, filing paperwork, and in Hailey’s case, reading over Jay’s case files so that she was up to speed.

She was sitting across from him, one foot up on her chair so her knee was at chest level, swiveling back and forth in the seat as she read from the file on her knee.

He looked up from his own work to see her brow furrowed as she took notes on a pad on her desk. “How’s it goin over there?” he asked.

Hailey gave a light groan in response, dropped her pen, and closed the file. “I feel like I’m cramming for some kind of test.” She ran hands through her hair and left them on her head. “I hate playing catch up.” She tossed the folder on to her desk where it hit the coffee cup she’d been drinking from, knocking it over. There hadn’t been much in it but the splash hit her shirt perfectly. “Dammit!” 

“Catch” Jay grabbed a handful of leftover lunch napkins from his drawer and tossed them over to her.

She caught them easily and mopped up the puddle on her desk before looking down at the splatter pattern on her shirt. “Yeah, that’s not gonna work.” She commented wryly, throwing away the wet napkins. “Fingers crossed I have something in my locker.” She stood and pushed her chair back, and made her way out of the room, rolling her eyes at Burgess as she passed her.

He watched her go and caught Kim’s eye. “I have a bag in my locker she can--” she began to offer as her phone rang. “Burgess,” she answered holding up a ‘wait a sec’ finger. Jay mimed that he’d relay the information.

He walked in to the locker room to catch a flash of her torso as Hailey pulled a green shirt down.

“What are you doing?” she nearly hissed, seeing him come in.

“Burgess wanted you to know she has clothes if you needed them,” he said in a normal voice, but moving closer he whispered to her as she backed up in to the locker. “You know what? I’ve seen you naked.” He teased, smirking.

“Jay!” she whispered, swatting at him and looking to the side to make sure no one was coming in.

“Not my fault it’s a slow day. My mind wanders.” He waggled his eyebrows.

She grinned at him. “Wander it back to work, _detective_.” Her mock warning came with a mock stern face and finger point to his chest. But in the spur of the moment, Hailey’s eyes quickly checked the doorway before reaching up and planting a less than chaste kiss on her partner’s mouth. 

When she pulled back, he was just looking at her, smiling. “Have I told you how glad I am you’re back?”

Her grin widened as she mildly rolled her eyes. “C’mon.” She hooked her finger around his and led the way back out to the hallway, dropping it before they entered the bullpen and went back to their desks.


	7. chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First argument

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not mine. 
> 
> Sorry for the delay with this one! Still working on finishing Only Bury the Dead but wanted to add this short chapter here first.

It had been nearly 2 weeks since Hailey's return, and nearly the same amount of nights that Hailey and Jay had spent together. They'd been able to find their work groove again easily and both their work and personal lives were operating at a level that made them both extremely pleasant to be around. A fact that had been noted by everyone they knew.

Jay was now leaning over the kitchen island in Hailey's place, holding a paper and had re-read it three times at minimum, trying to wrap his brain around the contents of the letter. The letter with the official seal at the top and signed by no few than four different bigwigs.

“Just need about three minutes!” Hailey called as she came down the stairs, finishing putting her hair up in to a ponytail as she entered the kitchen. “Hey,” she smiled at him as she kissed his cheek, happy not to have gone up on tiptoe this time.

“I like it when you’re down here with me.” she teased, turning to grab her water bottle and began to fill it from the filtered nozzle at the sink. “Whatcha got there?” she asked over her shoulder.

He inhaled sharply and laid the paper down. “You tell me.” His tone was serious as he pushed the paper toward her. Her brow knitted as she now sipped from the giant lip of the water bottle and tilted her head. The embossed seal at the top was all she needed to see to know exactly what it was.

“Jay.” Now her tone was serious as well.

“When were you going to tell me?”

She put the bottle down in front of her and screwed on the top. “Tell you? Tell you what? There’s nothing to tell. That was supposed to be in the recycling bin.” She told him pointedly.

His eyebrow lifted in a challenge. “Well it wasn’t. It was on the counter. Maybe you weren’t ready to toss it.”

Her expression screamed ‘really?!’ as she couldn’t speak for a moment. She cleared her throat, trying to get control of herself and this situation that seemed like it was well on its way to becoming an argument. Definitely a razor- sharp contrast to how they’d _started_ their morning upstairs in her bed.

“Jay,” she said his name again. “They sent me the offer. It’s good for what,” she craned her head to see the words on the paper. “2 weeks, and then it expires if it’s not accepted. I don’t have any plans to accept it.” She shook her head trying to make him see that this really wasn’t a big deal.

“This is a big deal, Hailey.” He chastised. “Both that you got the offer and that you didn’t feel the need to tell me about it!” He paused for a few seconds to see her reaction, the one that told him he was being ridiculous. Something that he _kind_ of knew but the thought of her leaving again, _for good_ , had thrown logic to the side, his emotions stomping all over it and running amok. He picked up the letter again and scanned through it. “It’s a solid offer, a prestigious position, lots of benefits, nice salary--”

She cut him off, her annoyance on full display. “First of all, _again_ , there’s nothing to talk about. _If_ I was thinking about taking it then sure, yeah. But.I’m.Not. Wanna know how much interest I have in taking that job?” she held up a zero with her hand, the tip of her thumb touching the rest of her fingertips as they tilted down. “Zero.” She reached for the letter from in his grasp and took it back, ripping it cleanly down the middle. “I said no when Castille offered me a position before I left New York and I’m still saying no now, I don’t care what they offer.”

“That’s insane,” Jay’s frustration was getting the better of him. “Why wouldn’t you want to take it, at least get the information, talk to them?”

Her head tilted as her brow furrowed, her eyes focused right on him. “Is that what you’d do? If you got an offer from somewhere, you’d have the talk, consider taking it?”

“It would depend on what it was!”” he shot back.

"Oh." Hailey blew out a long breath between pursed lips. "Okay."

It was quiet in the kitchen as they battled their emotions internally. This was their first argument and seeing how they dealt with it would tell how things would move forward for them.

Her arms were braced against the kitchen island and her eyes were wet as she scanned the granite pattern back and forth, not trusting herself to look at her partner. The fact that he was admitting that he could really leave if something better came alone cut her deeply. She tried to stay on topic and not use that in her argument. When she spoke, her voice was low and her words were slow. “The fact that you don’t trust me, Jay, is a problem.”

He shook his head a bit and scrubbed at his face, his voice back to calm. “It’s not that I don’t trust you. I just thought…I just thought that maybe you were in talks…”

She scoffed a bit as she was able to lift her eyes to meet his. “That’s not trusting me, if that’s what you think I’d do.”

They stared at each other, at an impasse. A ringing from Hailey’s back pocket broke the silence. She pulled out the phone, still watching him watch her.

“Upton,” she spoke in to it.

She listened for a moment before nodding. “We’re on our way.”

She pushed ‘end’ and returned the phone back to her pocket. They had to go work, and somehow get in sync. They were partners and during work hours that had to take priority. They’d have to see if they could do that. “We caught a case.”

The ride to the crime scene was awkward and filled with tension. A first for them. When they arrived they each got out and walked to the bodies, ducking under the yellow tape.

They walked up the small u shape of their team and waited to hear what was going on. Kim shot Hailey a look while Adam and Atwater shared one. The chill from the two that walked up was obvious.

Voight was the last to join the group, having just left a conversation with another sergeant. “Okay, “ he told them in his graveled voice. “Homicide wants this. Trying to tie it off since they’ve got a man undercover in one of the gangs they think this stemmed from. So, hope you enjoyed the scenery on the way over but we can head back.”

The group began to break up and walk back to their cars. Voight’s voice stopped Hailey and Jay. “You two, hang back.” Once the rest of the unit had moved on he directed his gaze onto them. “I don’t know what’s going on here right now and I don’t want to know. But work it out before you hit the bullpen. Or don’t and bury it for the day. When you clock in, your personal lives need to clock out. Understood?”

“Yeah Sarge” and “Copy that”’s were their responses. Hank walked off as Hailey and Jay turned back toward his truck. Now the question lay before them. Bury it for the day or work it out?


	8. part 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Making up is fun to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They're Dick Wolf's puppets, not mine. Not even a little bit. (Sadsies)

Back in the bullpen everyone was working including Hailey and Jay who were both struggling with maintaining a sole focus on their respective tasks. Hailey was on a phone call when Jay pushed his chair back and grabbed his mug. She caught his eye and shook her head, declining a refill.

By the time she hung up he still hadn’t returned. She twitched her mouth a few times as she wondered if she should do what she was considering. With a sigh she decided to go for it.

The break room was empty so she walked past it and down the hallway, turning in to the locker room. She took a few steps inside and found him leaning against the sink, arms braced on it.

She walked quietly up behind him and lay her palms and head against his back, breathing in time with him.

She felt him relax a bit beneath her cheek and after another moment of quiet she pulled back. He turned to her and leaned back against the sink. It was quiet between them.

She shook her head a bit. “I don’t know what to say here Jay.”

His response was in a tired whisper. “I know.”

Hailey rolled her bottom lip inward, letting her teeth scrape it lightly. Her hand went to his chest and her voice was soft when she asked, “Do you really… _really_ believe that I’d take some job, _any_ job, and not even mention to it you? Even _think_ about leaving intelligence without saying something? Is that what you think of me? That I’d do that?”

With both hands he rubbed his face, shaking his head. “No …I don’t know……”

Hailey withdrew her hand and swallowed, nodding slightly. She flashed a quick half-hearted smile. “Okay.” She looked up at him again before turning and went back to her desk.

She sat there doing nothing, inwardly screaming at herself to get to work, that this was exactly the kind of bullshit that Voight didn’t want, that she didn’t want, at work.

She took in a deep breath and blew it out, counted to 5 and then that was it. Her feelings, her hurt, were pushed down to a place where she could function again.She got back to work, now fully focused.

Jay remained in the locker room, now seated on a bench. When Kim entered she stopped short upon seeing him. “Hey,” she greeted, getting her feet moving again toward her locker. She opened it and grabbed a bottle of motrin from the top shelf. “You okay?” She took 2, returned the bottle and closed her locker. “Jay?”

She sat beside him and lightly tapped his knee. “This about you and Hailey?”

He scoffed lightly. “I think I screwed up.” He paused. “Majorly.”

She shook her head. “Nah, doubtful. First argument?”

He looked at her quizzically. “Umm..yeah, I guess…”

It was her turn to scoff now and she did so with a mild roll of her eyes. “Boys.” Then she got a bit more serious. “Jay, everyone argues, you know that. But if you think about it, and maybe I don’t know everything,” she put a hand to her chest. “but it’s been…a while…since you’ve _had_ someone to…argue with…” she let her words hang in the air for a moment. “Have you apologized?”

“Yeah, no”

“Okay, has she?”

He thought of her coming to him just a short while ago. “Maybe. Kinda.”

She grimaced and closed her eyes. “And you didn’t accept it.” Kim sucked her teeth. “Yeah, you’re in it Jay.” She tapped his knee again. “But you’ll get out of it.”

He looked at her and raised his eyebrows.

“You and Hailey--- You guys work,” she shrugged. “You just do, you always have. We all see it.” She smiled at him. “I don’t know what you argued about, but I’d bet an entire paycheck that it’ll work out. If you, y’know, work it out.”

Jay found himself chuckling a bit. “An entire paycheck, huh?”

She nodded. “Yep. And I need that money so don’t do something really stupid, okay?”

“I hear you,” Jay agreed. A thought occurred to him, “Hey. Kim? Do me a favor, can you cover for me for a little while?”

She smiled, seeing him come back to himself a bit. “Copy that.”

Jay hadn’t returned to his desk and no matter how many times Hailey glanced up to his chair he wasn’t there.

Kim had seen her do it multiple times and finally went over to her. Quietly, she leaned over Hailey with a hand on her shoulder. “He’s okay. Went out for a bit but he’ll be back.”

“Jesus, Kim” Hailey startled at the voice and pressure on her shoulder. “You’re stealthy.” She managed a laugh, her first real one since the morning.

“ _I know_ ” Kim replied with dramatic effect as she pulled herself away and back to her desk.

An hour later Hailey couldn’t write or type anything else. If it needed words on paper she was no longer your girl. She put her hands to her face and rubbed her eyes. She needed a break from sitting across from an empty desk and pretending it didn’t bother her.

“Hey Adam,” she turned her chair around. “You still have that spotty mic?”

“Spotty mic?” He repeated as he thought about it, his brow furrowed. He began to open and close drawers in his desk. “Lemme see….”

Hailey took a quick breath, gave a short nod and smirked. “You put it back in the tech room with the others, didn’t you.”

He closed the last opened drawer slowly. “I may have” he answered just as slowly. “Yeah.”

“Buss-tehd” Kevin sing songed softly from behind him as he wrote an IPR, never looking up.

“I got it,” Hailey told him. “If you need me I’ll be downstairs.”

“Copy that” Adam replied with a mock salute, then mouthed a silent ‘thank you’ to her as she left.

Jay climbed the stairs, holding a small bag at his side. He dropped it on his chair as he arrived at his desk. Unzipping his jacket he looked around the room. “Upton around?”

“Downstairs, on a mic search.” Kevin replied, again not looking up from the file he was working on.

Jay nodded, trading his jacket for the bag and went down the hall that led to the back stairs. He found her sitting cross legged on a table, a pile of wrapped mics in front of her with a scant few still beside her.

“ _That_ doesn’t look like a fun job.” He quipped walking up to her.

“That’s because it’s not.” She deadpanned in return. She put in an ear piece and spoke a ‘check, check’ in to the mic, listening for the clarity. Another one that worked perfectly. If Adam did in fact have the spotty one up in his desk she’d kill him. She wrapped the cord around the mic and put it in front of her. She looked to Jay and tilted her head in curiosity. “What’s up?”

“That’s a loaded question.” He smirked. “Me. You. This morning. Your letter.—“

She closed her eyes and shook her head. “I don’t want to talk about that damned letter anymore.” She uncrossed her legs and came down from the table.

“Noted,” he told her, sincerely. “Listen, I was an ass. First to read it and second to jump to conclusions.”

She stopped moving, studied him, and listened.

He continued, “Hailey—this morning wasn’t about you. It was about me. This…thing between us.” He sucked his teeth. “It’s new and it’s…it’s awesome,” he smiled at her, coaxing one from her in return. “And if I’m being honest, I know it’s only been a few weeks but the thought of it being over? I can’t…” His lips sealed in to a straight line as he shook his head. “It wasn’t that it was the feds, or New York…hell it could’ve been a pizza hut in Bridgeport….but the thought of you leaving, of not being with you… it spooked me.” He raised his eyebrows slightly at her in a sardonic way. He was trying to explain himself and she was letting him, never interrupting, just hearing him out as she always did. “It wasn’t about trusting you because I _do_ , you know I do, or I hope you know it—after this morning I’d get it if you weren’t so sure….but I want you to know, to hear me tell you, that I do trust you. I trust you, your judgement, your decisions…all of it. I trust you,” he took a breath. “because…because it’s part of the package. I want you to know...I want you know that I trust you because I love you. And the thought of losing you …” His emotions got the better of him and he stopped talking, instead closing his eyes and grimacing.

Hailey steppped up. “Hey.” She told him, her own eyes shining. “Hey, look at me.”

He felt the warmth of her hand on his chest as she stepped closer to him. A small smile played at her lips. “You love me?”

He opened his eyes and nodded. “Yeah. I do.”

Her smile grew a bit. “Well that’ works" Her nose wrinkled a bit. "Because I love you too.”

“Yeah?” He grinned down at her.

“Yeah,” she affirmed, nodding and smiling as she closed the barely remaining space between them and reached up to put her hands to his cheeks, pulling him down for a kiss.

Jay felt a million times better. He was still bending down to her, his hands behind his back as he kissed her again, murmuring. “I thought we were going to try and keep our personal life personal and work life at work.”

She pulled back with a smile. “I’m not the one talking about our…this…” she gestured to the air between them. “at work.”

He smirked, straightening. “Well listen, if we weren’t, then I wouldn’t be able to give you what’s behind my back.”

A look of smugness, want, and curiosity crossed her features making Jay seriously wish they were anywhere _but_ work right now. Especially after righting the wrongs of the morning.

He tried to tame himself. “What do you think it is?”

She craned her neck trying in vain to see around him, noting how he held whatever it was easily with two hands. “Hmm, smaller than a bread box, bigger than……” she pursed her lips. “a bottle of beer?”

Jack cocked his head from the left to the right, weighing her choices. “Mmm, depends on the beer—and what this is in real life.” He wiggled his arms behind him while quirking an eyebrow.

The burst of laughter that Hailey let out brightened her entire face putting her smile, dimples, and beauty on full display for him.

“C’mon Jay,” she nearly whined. “What is it?”

He produced it with a flourish. “Peace Puppy.” It was a small stuffed Rottweiler dog. "A peace offering. An 'I'm sorry' puppy."

Her face collapsed with the cuteness before her. She took it with two hands and held it to her nose. “Ohhhh, Jay, it’s adorable. Thank you.” Her cheeks were flushed as she smiled genuinely at him.

He licked his bottom lip and the thought that they were at work tried to lodge itself in his brain. It didn’t work.

He was starting to breathe a bit heavily. He looked around at where they were, the room with no eyes, no ears, then took Hailey’s hand and pulled her behind him. “C’mere…”

He pulled her into the tech room, tucking her against the wall of the corner the half wall blocked from view by the door. She was grinning wickedly as he smirked and again chanced a glance around them. His hands were against the wall slightly above her head.

“So…?” she challenged.

With a low chuckle and a dirty smirk he leaned forward and kissed her hard.


	9. chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A final look at an upstead evening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone for the amazing comments and kudos. Love you all! This is the end of this story as I begin a new one (that's totally new for me though still upstead). None of the characters belongs to me.

Their session in the basement of the 21st hadn’t gone as far as they’d have liked as they were interrupted by a few patrolmen bitching loudly about the detail they were assigned. An obvious vent session that Hailey and Jay had had to sit through covertly until the officers left. They knew their moment was over and smirked easily at each other.

Hailey smacked Jay’s ass lightly. “Get back upstairs. I still have to find the spotty mic.”

Jay quietly chewed the bottom inside of his cheeks. “But my place after shift.”

“In my mind we’re already there.” She retorted wickedly with her eyebrows up.

He groaned loudly, his head tilted backward as he moved past her toward the stairs. Hailey watched him go, grinning, and grabbed for the small stuffed dog he’d given her. It sat beside her as she reclaimed her position on the table in the main room, checking through the pile of mics.

They lay in Jay’s bed, him on his side facing her, Hailey on her stomach, head resting on her crossed arms. Jay casually stroked feather light lines up and down Hailey’s back and shoulder, smiling each time he felt her shiver.

“You know you can say that you like this.” He continued with his movements.

“How do you know I like it?” She murmured, her eyes closed.

“I can feel it. I can feel you.”

His tone was so soft, so serious, that Hailey opened her eyes. She did like it, love what Jay was doing. After a relatively exhausting but amazing hour in bed with him, she still felt as though her bones were liquid. She was drowsy in the best way and Jay’s light fingertips were helping her stay in the gray area between dozing and staying awake with him.

She smirked and turned to face him, groaning with the effort of moving.

He moved closer, smirking back as he looked down at her. He moved a lock of hair away from her face and sighed deeply. “So that was our first argument.”

Hailey snorted. “First?”

“Well…first where we argued…” he kissed her lips lightly, “then made up…” traveled to her jaw… “like this…” and to the side of her neck, kissing his way down to her collarbone.

Hailey grinned, closing her eyes, fully enjoying the sensations.

“Mmmm, I don’t know that I’m ready to make up again….” She lifted her head to him, her face full of light and happiness. “But I can probably be persuaded.”

The afternoon faded into early evening and Jay and Hailey were still in bed. He was sitting up, replying to a text, while Hailey slept lightly beside him. The disarray of the room caught his eye and made an impression on his brain. He blinked a few times, noting the clothing that was strewn around. The idea slammed into him and when he realized it didn’t freak him out, he crept from the bed undetected. Ten minutes later he was done when the sound of an incoming text made him wince as he checked Hailey’s lack of reaction, and settled back next to her.

 _Haven’t heard from you in a while_ , Will had texted.

_Been busy. Work and stuff_

_Hailey know you call her that?_

_Hilarious. Take it on the road_

_Ha. free to meet up? Off at 8, old friend in town. Mollys._

Jay again glanced at the sleeping form beside him. Doubting she’d mind, he agreed.

He switched to scrolling through emails as Hailey stirred. He put the phone on the nightstand and watched her, moving hair out of her face as she opened her eyes blearily.

“What time is it?” she groaned.

Jay grinned down at her and drew out the first word in his sentence. “I…don’t think you want to know.”

Sleep wasn’t something that Hailey came to easily, but she wasn’t one to sleep during the day to make up for the lack of rest at night. He knew she wouldn’t love the fact that she’d slept _a lot_ , regardless of the reasons. For a moment he smugly smiled as he thought of the reasons.

She rolled on to her back, pulling an arm over her eyes as she murmured, “Shit.” A deep sigh and she peeked out over her arm to see Jay grinning at her.

“What’re you doing? What’re you so happy about?” she groused.

He opted not to tell her he’d been reliving their afternoon in his mind and went for the next closest truth. “You. You’re not really a morning person but you can get it together pretty well. Waking up from a nap though…” he chuckled and gave a dramatic wince as her brow furrowed at him.

“I’m going back to sleep.” She pulled the blanket up over her head and turned over.

“Hailey” Jay admonished, laughing. “C’mon” he leaned over her and pulled on the blanket.

She gave in and turned back to him, trying not to smile and failing. He brushed the hair away from her face. “Hey, Will asked if we’d meet him at Molly’s later. You good with that?”

“Mmm, yeah. Sounds good.” She propped herself up on her elbows, glancing past Jay toward the clock on his nightstand. “You’ve gotta be kidding me, we seriously spent the entire day in bed.” She moaned.

Jay faked a hurt face and put a hand to his chest. “I have feelings.” He blinked rapidly while grinning at her.

“Don’t be an ass,” she grinned back. “I didn’t say I didn’t love it.” She leaned over and planted a kiss on his chest. “Or that it wasn’t amazing.” Grinning wickedly at him she raised up just a bit more, walked her fingers up his chest and kissed him. When she pulled back she stayed close and asked, “How are your feelings now?”

He nodded. “Soothed.” Jay wasn’t sure if the amazement he felt showed on his face but he felt the full force of happiness either way.

Hailey stretched and turned, grabbing the tee shirt she’d removed from her partner hours earlier, slipping it over her own head now.

“What are you doing?”

She had just pulled on underwear and now was putting her hair in to a messy pony tail and looked over her shoulder at him, smiling. “Desperately trying to get out of this bed, get this day on track….”

Jay fought the smile and the blush that were threatening. He thought he was able to defeat the blush but knew that part of the smile had slipped through.

“It’s been a great day.” He nodded. “The best day.” The contentment in his chest was such a warmth, such a novel feeling that he physically rubbed his bare chest a bit, relishing in it. “But I meant with my shirt there. Where’s yours?”

Her ponytail swung left and right as she looked around his bedroom. “Right now? No clue. But either way, for now, I’m wearin’ it.” She pulled at the hem of the shirt.

He watched her stand and stretch once more, wondering just how the hell he’d gotten to this place, how he’d finally been so god damned lucky. He hoped that same luck held for the next few minutes.

Jay sat forward and mildly stretched his arms. “Hey since you’re stealing that one,” he stopped to snicker at Hailey as she stuck her tongue out at him. “Nice. Grab me one?” He swung his legs out and put his feet on the floor, watching her cross in front of his bed.

She reached his dresser and pulled on the drawer. It came toward her faster than expected and she furrowed her brow at the reason why. It was empty.

She turned to him, quipping. “When’s the last time you did laundry?”

“Hailey,” His tone was serious as he looked at her knowingly. He pulled his jeans on and walked over to her. “My laundry isn’t an issue.” He assured her as he put his hands to her waist and looked at the drawer whose handle she still held. “The stuff that was in there is just in a different place.” He shrugged lightly, watching her face.

Hailey felt unsteady. She knew she should understand what was going on but felt like she couldn’t quite grasp it all. She looked up to Jay, silently asking him to please just spell it out for her. If she gave voice to what she thought this was and it turned out she was wrong, she didn’t think the shade of red that she’d turn or the level of embarrassment that she’d feel had been discovered yet.

Jay nodded to the drawer. “That’s yours.”

She swallowed hard and looked to it for a long moment. He couldn’t read her when her head swiveled back up to him and she chewed her lip a bit. Her voice was low and steady when she spoke. “Are you sure about this? Because you know you don’t have to—“

His hands went to cup her face. “I am. And I know I don’t.” He assured her. “I want to.”

Light danced over her face as she tried to control a smile. “Yeah?” Her eyes roamed the rectangular empty space before looking back to him. “I think I can do something with this.” She lost control of the smile as she beamed at him. “You really sure?”

“How else am I gonna keep my shirts?” He grinned and sucked his teeth. “It’s just a drawer. And yeah--100%.”

Hailey went up on tiptoe to kiss him softly, murmuring a ‘thank you’ as she pulled away. “I love it.”

They were both showered and dressed, finishing getting ready to head out. Hailey had only been mildly distracted by the phone call from Vanessa.

“Sorry V, we’re getting ready to walk out the door but we’re just meeting Will at Molly’s if you want to meet us there later.” Hailey offered as she walked around the small apartment for the 3rd time. Jay was ready to go, and she would be too as soon as she could find her shoes.

“Psst,” Jay hissed to her from the couch. He held a shoe in one hand and was poised to toss it to her.

Hailey stopped to mouth a grateful ‘thank you’ as she shouldered the phone and caught the shoe. She dropped onto the chair and toed her foot in. She easily caught the second as she finished her conversation with her roommate.

She hung up and put the phone in her back pocket.

“Ta da!” she offered, with a dramatic flourish of her arms.

He chuckled. “What are you ta-da’ing?”

She smiled. “That we are once again about to be fully functioning members of society… and that I’m ready to go.”

“Eh, fully functioning members of society are overrated.” He told her easily, as he stood and walked over to her as she was putting on her jacket. His hands went to her waist.

“Jay” she warned, cocking her head a bit. Their sex life was amazing, no doubt, and she wouldn’t trade a single moment of it for anything. But she wouldn’t be lying if she said she was a bit excited to be part of the outside world for a short time.

“I’m not doing anything,” he murmured, as he ran his hands up and down her arms, to her back, down to her ass, pulling her tight against him, watching her all the while.

“No, you’re not.” She palmed his chest, denying her own desire for him, and pushed lightly. “But I _will_ take a raincheck for later. For what you’re not doing.”

Jay groaned and claimed a kiss.

“Just one,” Hailey told him. “Okay two… no more than 5,” she laughed in to his mouth.

“Okay,” Jay stepped back and grabbed his keys. “Let’s get this over with.”

“Ahhh, that’s brotherly love if I’ve ever heard it.” Hailey deadpanned as they exited his apartment.

They arrived at Molly’s without issue. Walking up to the table Hailey and Jay were smiling and talking easily, both laughing lightly. The mood chilled considerably though as Jay froze seeing who Will was sitting with.

“Hey!” Will called out, gesturing to the couple seated at the table with him. “Look who’s in town!” His eyes were bright and his smile wide; both Hailey and Jay seeing the high level of fake happiness it represented. Hailey wasn’t sure at all who the couple at the table was, nor the reason Jay had frozen beside her or the reason for Will’s discomfort. She had a feeling they were all connected though.

She smiled at the pair and introduced herself as she sat. “Hi,” she extended a hand to each. “Hailey.”

The woman was about to speak when Jay inadvertently did it for her. “Abby.” His voice was low and his face serious. “What are you doing here.” It wasn’t a question.

Abby didn’t seem fazed by the lack of joy to see her or the chilly tone to Jay’s voice. Both made Hailey look to Jay, to see what the problem was.

Abby’s voice was high and chipper. “We are in town for _Tim’s_ work conference. We got married 3 months ago!” she trilled, showing the ring on her left hand with a proud grin and a wiggling of her fingers.

Hailey looked to the two men she knew at the table and hoped her face didn’t show too obviously the weirdness she felt, that out of the three of them, she, the only one who’d just met this woman, was the only one offering her any sort of congratulations. They, instead, looked extremely uncomfortable.

The sigh Jay let out as he closed his eyes was a deep, cleansing one. Hailey caught the murmured ‘thank god’ before offering his own congratulations. “That’s great Abby. I’m happy for you. Tim…?” Jay extended his hand.

A waitress arrived with a tray of drinks and distributed among the table. Hailey sipped her beer and asked the obvious question. “So how do you know these two?” She indicated the Halsteads with her bottle.

Jay inhaled and sat back in his chair, his lips to his own beer.

Abby pointed to Will first. “Well, this one I met through this one.” She moved her finger over to Jay.

He offered a simple, “We were in Kandahar together.” He looked over at Tim who nodded. “Rangers.”

Abby laughed as she rolled her eyes. “And then Vegas.”

She looked over at Hailey and hastily added, “but that’s all done. Signed, submitted, done. _Obviously_.” She looked up at her husband who kissed the top of her head as she leaned in to him.

Hailey felt like she was missing something and looked around the table to see if she was the only one.

She was.

Abby leaned back in her seat and spoke to Hailey. “He’s a good one.” She hooked a thumb in Jay’s direction. Hailey followed with her eyes, smiling.

“Fantastic Ranger, great friend…” She smiled, lifting her drink to him.

“And as far as ex-husbands go, he’s the best.” Abby joked, not noticing the color drain from Jay’s face.

Hailey leaned forward, her smile still on her face but not remotely meeting her eyes.

“I’m sorry--as far as whats go?” Her smile was plastered on as she looked between Jay and Abby. She felt like she was missing a punchline somewhere, looking to the pair to see which one would start laughing first, tell her how for a detective in an elite police unit she sure was gullible.

But the pair was only quiet. Until Jay spoke her name. “Hailey.”

She put up a finger to him, still smiling the stupid smile. She needed him to not say anything and let the brunette explain what she meant. Because that statement couldn’t have been self- explanatory.

Abby’s face twisted with a grimace as she muttered a quiet “Ohhh shit” and flicked a glance to Jay. She hadn’t meant to cause any trouble. She turned to Will with a disappointed and accusatory look. “I thought you said they’d been together for years.”

“I said they’d been _partnered_ for years.” His hands were up in self defense.

Abby felt her husband’s hand on her thigh and caught his sympathetic look before he spoke. “Listen, this has been great, meeting you and everything, but…I think we should go.” He whispered to Abby that he’d pay the tab at the bar and meet her outside.

After they left, Hailey turned to Jay. “Got a second?” She stood and walked toward the narrow hallway that led to the bathrooms and rear exit.

Jay groaned and looked pointedly at Will. “You know you’re dead, right?”

“Already planning my funeral.” He replied quickly.

Jay made his way to Hailey who was standing jumpily, moving from side to side as he approached. She didn’t wait for him to get all the way to her before starting.

“Okay, I don’t know what that what was,” she motioned out at the tables. “But whatever it was it was ridiculous.”

“I know,” he quickly replied in a loud whisper. “Hailey, I’m so sorry about that. I didn’t…” He shrugged and looked back at the table they’d sat at. “I didn’t know she’d be here, I didn’t know she’d..”

She shook her head. “No, no, no, I don’t care about that. About her.” Hailey waved a hand dismissively. “Look, you don’t have to tell me everything…this part of us is still new and I _like_ taking our time with it, getting to know another side of you slowly.”

She continued on. “Sitting down with them though, letting that play out like that, **_that_** is what bothers me. What, were you hoping it just wouldn’t come up?”

“Kinda,” he admitted sheepishly. He blew out a breath and spoke. “That…Abby was good people. She got me through a rough time but what we did was incredibly stupid and we only did it as a result of being incredibly drunk. I thought it’d been taken care of, I’d signed what I needed to sign… it ended up taking a lot longer to tie it off than I thought.”

Hailey nodded, looking pensive. “So you... got really-really drunk,” she clarified and stepped closer to him, throwing him off guard. “and married this girl. In Vegas. Years ago…” she mused and put a hand to his chest.

Jay was confused and honestly, a little turned on at what she was doing, the way she was speaking. “Uhhhh, yeah. That’s about the gist of it.” He met her eyes and locked on.

“Okay…” her fingers walked up his chest and played with the skin on his neck around the collar of his tee shirt. “I guess we need to watch how much you drink.” The admonishment was said in mild teasing.

He huffed out a laugh. Was this really it? She was dealing with it and not holding it against him? “I promise, all drinking now may lead to stupid decisions,” he nodded in acknowledgement. “Just not **_really_** stupid ones. But to be sure, I may need you to keep an extra eye on me.”

Hailey laughed lightly and leaned up to kiss him. “I can work with that.”

They walked back in to the main bar where Hailey excused herself to sit with a group of co-workers from her old unit as Will and Jay traded the table for seats at the bar.

“So what the hell was that about? You trying to screw me over here, or what?”

Will had known he’d have to answer for tonight. “Okay, in my defense, a—I didn’t know she’d be bringing a husband. She hadn’t mentioned that when she called. And b--” He glanced over at Hailey as she sat listening and laughing to something someone at the table said.

“Didn’t you learn anything from your last go ‘round with this? Something like being honest…?”

“Fuck you, Will, there’s a difference between being honest and just throwing everything out there.” He and Hailey had been partners and friends for years, but they didn’t know everything about each other. Not yet. “You’re just lucky that she’s amazing.”

Will shook his head in mock disbelieving. “You’ve gotta be the luckiest idiot alive.”

“I know, right?” Jay smirked as he took a sip of his beer. “But I did learn something, man. I uhhhh,” He stopped and pulled his drink away from his mouth, turning to face his brother as he leaned against the back of the stool. “I gave her one of my drawers.”

Will froze.

“To my dresser.” Jay clarified.

“You gave her a drawer?”

“Mmm hmm.”

“For her things?”

“Just some, Don’t go crazy.”.

Will shook his head, smiling.

“It’s just a drawer. I’m sorry I told you.” Jay took a sip of his beer, shaking his own head at Will.

“Man, I’m just jealous. I wish I had someone to give a drawer to.” He laughed and cupped a hand over Jay’s shoulder “Really though, I’m happy for you. For both of you.” He removed his hand clinked his glass to Jay’s bottle. Will turned back to face the bar and lifted his glass to his lips. “Took you long enough” he quipped and then sipped.

Jay choked a bit on his drink and laughed lightly at his brother. “Well, maybe if you’d said something…” He joked, rolling his eyes. Both of them knew full well how many times Will had tried to gently push Jay in to making a move with Hailey.

They were chatting amiably as Hailey walked up and stood between their stools.

“Hey,” Jay hung an arm around her and she leaned in to him slightly. “How’s robbery homicide?”

Hailey glanced back at the table where she’d been, catching up, telling stories, and laughing with a few of the members of her old unit.

“Good.” She nodded, stifling a yawn. “Same.”

“Uh-uh, Upton, none of that. It’s still early!” Will teased.

Hailey only shook her head, a wry smile on her face.

He chuckled. “Long day?”

“Mmmm… _busy_ day” she smirked, pointedly not looking at Jay. She could feel his smirk beside her just as well as the slight tug toward him.

Will just watched them before shaking his head. He huffed out a quick laugh. “You two aren’t nearly as subtle as you think.”

Hailey’s eyes widened as a half-smile grew across her face and a pink tinge spread up her cheeks. She still wouldn’t look at Jay.

“In fact,” Will teased. “You two suck.” He grabbed his drink as Jay laughed and pulled Hailey a bit tighter again, kissing the side of her head. Hailey leaned in to him now.

“Have a good night.” With a grin, a mock salute, and a shake of his head he stood and went over to join friends at another table.

Now Hailey turned and moved so she stood between Jay’s knees. “Ready to get out of here?”

“Yeah.” He motioned to Hermann behind the bar. As he came over Jay pointed to the bottles that sat in front of him. “Will’s picking this up. Throw it on his bill?”

“And a round for robbery-homicide.” Hailey added, grinning and pointing over to their table.

“You got it.”

Jay and Hailey walked out the door. “That was pretty generous of your brother…” she teased.

“He owed us.” Jay mused with a slight smirk. “He’s just lucky we didn’t buy the whole bar a round.” It was the least he could do for ambushing him.

Hailey laughed a soft _ha_ as they neared his truck. “Well, I hope he finds someone else to buy drinks for tonight. Maybe he’ll get lucky.”

“What about me?” Jay grabbed the key fob from his pocket and unlocked the truck.

They stopped behind the cab as a small crease appeared on Hailey’s forehead. “You want to buy someone drinks?”

He looked down at her, a pleased grin appearing on his face as his hands found Hailey’s waist and he stepped to her, pushing his hips forward. “Noooo…am I gonna get lucky?”

“Jay!” Hailey’s eyes widened as she looked around the lit parking area, smiling in mild embarrassment. She leaned up and kissed him, chuckling as he tried to deepen the kiss. She broke away and looked around again, still laughing and pushing him away lightly. “Get in the truck.”

“That wasn’t a no.” he called to her as she moved to the passenger side of the truck.

As they both took their spots and he started the ignition she smirked pointedly at him. “No. No, it wasn’t.” She raised her eyebrows suggestively.

“Oh man” Jay threw it in drive and snickered as he pulled out on to the street. He’d told her earlier it had been a great day. He now thought their night would go just as well.


End file.
